Chuck vs the Establishment
by redwalgrl-RG
Summary: And that was it. Over twenty years of service and it ended in an instant. Nothing fancy. No dishonorable discharge, no awards, not even a "thanks for helping save your country's ass." Nothing. ... Eventual Casey x Chuck.
1. Terms of Dismissal

**Chuck vs. the Establishment**

_Operation One: Terms of Dismissal_

Wow. I've been following Chuck closely since the first season, but I haven't written anything for it. I'm ashamed of myself. However, _Chuck vs. the Tic Tac_ changed all that. I wasn't satisfied with the end of the episode -- as I'm sure other Casey fans were -- and so this fic was born. For your information, it will develop into a Casey x Chuck pairing over time. Don't like? Click the lovely back button.

I don't own anything. There. Disclaimer done.

Without further ado, please enjoy. Remember, reviews make me write faster!

* * *

And that was it. Over twenty years of service and it ended in an instant. Nothing fancy. No dishonorable discharge, no awards, not even a "thanks for helping save your country's ass." Nothing.

Chuck expected him to say something at least. The way Casey merely accepted it with a stiff salute was heart-breaking. Alex Coburn had given up everything in his life for this job, and John Casey was losing everything all over again. Chuck was vaguely aware that he was ordered to escort Casey out of Castle, but found himself following the ex-agent rather than leading. He doubted he could anyway. Had he been paying a bit more attention, he might have heard Sarah discussing travel plans with the General in the other room, before the door shut with a sense of finality Chuck had never sensed before.

"So that's it then?" The voice that came from his mouth wasn't his. It had reached a whole new level of disbelief and maybe even the slightest bit of terror. It didn't matter that he had the Intersect in his head and could save his own ass; it didn't matter that Sarah could do that for him without breaking a sweat. At that moment, Chuck Bartowski felt he had failed John Casey -- and somehow that was worse than his own failure as a secret agent.

"That's it." Casey's voice was equally unusual, though his held something in it Chuck couldn't quite place. It wasn't anger -- that would have been expected. It wasn't sadness either. The closest Chuck could find was exhaustion, but that wasn't quite right either. "You heard the General."

He had. But that didn't mean Chuck was ready to accept it. Without Casey there to look out after him, what was he supposed to do? Two agents against just how many Ring operatives? And Sarah? She was practically attached to pretty-boy-what's-his-name at the hip. Shaw. Chuck didn't mind Shaw, really, but his relationship with Sarah was troubling, to say the bare minimum. "But Casey..."

"It's over, Chuck." There was that hostility he had grown rather fond of seeing in his NSA handler. "Don't you get it? I screwed up." It occurred to the Intersect that Casey hadn't turned to face him the whole time, even though the duo were stopped within the Entertainment department of the Buy More. The lights were all off, but Chuck could clearly see the silhouette Casey's back made against the display of televisions. Casey didn't _want_ Chuck to see him. "It's over."

It slowly dawned on Chuck as the former agent walked toward the Buy More's front doors that it was all over. Casey was restarting as a civilian. He would probably move away, get a decent job, make a decent living. Chuck could have been punched in the gut at that very moment and it wouldn't have hurt as badly. "Casey..." But even as he spoke, the other man wrenched open the door and stalked out. Chuck didn't even get the sense that he was angry.

Casey was dispensable. Once his usefulness had worn out, the government disposed of him. Was that it? This whole time he had been working to help the government because of his unique situation. Because he _was_ the Intersect. But if a better Intersect was made, or one that worked within the government as it was supposed to, then what? Would Chuck be tossed aside? The pieces began to fall into place slowly, and Chuck found himself returning to the back room, opening the hidden door, and progressing down the hallway into Castle. He might be disposable in the future, but at the moment...

"I quit."

General Beckman and Sarah both looked up as he walked in. The former's expression was still as hard as it had been while she was dismissing Casey, but the latter looked stunned by Chuck's proclamation. "Chuck, what are you saying...?"

"You heard me, Agent Walker." Chuck greeted, almost icily. "I quit. If this is what the government does to its personnel, then I don't want anything to do with it."

Sarah's stunned look slowly turned into disbelief, but the General's expression hadn't changed. "You shouldn't make rash decisions, Agent Bartowski." She advised calmly, clearly not taking his threat seriously.

The daze he had been in after hearing the General's words was wearing off. Chuck drew himself up to his full height (realizing again how short the General was, but how commanding she still seemed), and stated, "This isn't rash. I've thought it over, clearly for as long as the decision to dismiss Colonel Casey was thought over."

"Chuck!"

Beckman's eyes narrowed, her arms slowly rising to fold, almost defensively. "The decision to dismiss Casey was the only viable option. The situation is... unfortunate, but there is nothing that can be done."

"You didn't want it to happen this way either, did you?" Chuck found he wasn't all that surprised. The General certainly talked tough, but she had never turned her back completely on their odd little team. "Because it isn't fair? Because Casey's a great agent?"

"Colonel--" She paused, only to quickly correct herself, "Mr. Casey has done a lot for this country. Unfortunately, this was the only course of action the government could take."

"What's stopping him from revealing what he knows to the Ring, then?"

"Chuck...!" Again Sarah tried to interrupt, and again Chuck ignored the warning.

He wasn't given a response though, for General Beckman instead turned her attention to Sarah. "I leave in an hour. You are welcome to join me, Agent Walker." She turned on her heel and left through the Orange Orange entrance, and Chuck didn't make a move to stop her.

Silence fell between the two remaining agents. Chuck noticed that Sarah wouldn't meet his eyes, and got the distinct feeling that whatever it was she had been discussing with the General wasn't helping his case any. "Chuck..." She started again, almost pleadingly.

"Forget it."

Those were the last two words she seemed to expect, and her look of surprise and hurt at them was a momentary slap in the face for Chuck. Was he really going to defend Casey to the point of hurting Sarah?

The ease at which he answered that question astounded him.

_Yes_.

* * *

Chuck arrived home later that night, still furious at the General's decision, and slowly growing more and more angry at Casey's acceptance of it. Logically he knew there was nothing Casey could have done to change Beckman's mind, but that didn't stop the anger, the hurt, the _betrayal_. Casey was a part of Team Chuck, and Agent Carmichael would not take his dismissal lying down.

Now how was he supposed to get Casey back? Threatening the General to quit clearly hadn't worked. But what if he tried something else? What if he went over her head and threatened _her_ superiors? (Did she even have superiors? Chuck decided he'd have to check with Sarah -- no wait, she was leaving for Washington D.C. -- _Casey_, then. Casey would know.)

He rapped on the door, half-expecting Casey to blatantly ignore him. Instead he was allowed in, albeit a bit unwillingly from the former agent. "Chuck." His greeting was the same as usual. "What do you want?" Exactly the same. That frightened Chuck on some hidden level. It was as though... as though it hadn't really hit Casey yet. Maybe he just hadn't realized how final this whole thing was.

"I just wanted to... you know, see if everything was alright." Chuck responded, a bit lamely. It hadn't been his intention, but threatening to quit in order to ensure Casey's return to Team Chuck for his own reasons suddenly seemed a lot less important. "I mean, how are you... how are you taking it?"

Casey's "home" -- Chuck had to stop and wonder if Casey ever considered any place "home," especially after all he'd been through -- was empty. The only things the government had left were a chair, a small desk, and apparently one of Casey's bonsai trees, which was situated under the apartment's only lamp. It was nearly pitch-black inside, and Chuck again felt as though Casey didn't want the younger agent to see him. Was it because he was ashamed of what had happened? Shame just didn't suit John Casey very well at all, Chuck decided.

Chuck's question hung in the air between the two of them as Casey shut the door and made his way over toward the small table and the single chair. He took a seat, but kept out of the light. It splayed across his dark t-shirt, and Chuck was once again struck with the finality of it all. Casey wasn't unaware of it -- he knew just as well as Chuck did. That just made it worse. Casey was still trying to put up that strong front, even though it wouldn't do either of them any good.

"I threatened to quit." Chuck said suddenly. He hadn't really meant to say it -- as Casey would probably just take it offensively (_So you think you have to stand up for me?_) -- but what he received instead was a surprised glance. The light caught Casey's face for a brief moment before he moved again, but it was enough. Casey looked drained. Not tired, exactly, but that certainly was present.

"You what?"

Chuck shrugged and followed Casey over to the small table, testing it with a hand before sitting on the edge of it once he was sure it could support his weight. "It's not right. I mean, you've served this country for years! How can they just...?" He trailed off, and Casey didn't bother to finish his sentence. "It's _stupid_. I can't sit by and watch."

Casey didn't respond. As Chuck had come over, Casey had moved to better situate himself out of the harsh glow of the single lamp, which made reading his expression incredibly hard. "You would choose me over being a spy."

"Of course," The flatness in Casey's voice bothered Chuck. It was as though the very thought had never occurred to him. Did Casey really think so little of Chuck? "You're my friend. After everything you went through... No. That's not it." Chuck frowned slightly and took a moment to organize his thoughts. "It doesn't have anything to do with your past, with who you were... None of that. It's because you're my friend, Casey. It's because of how good you are at being a spy. It's because it's what you do." Again Chuck drew himself up, but this time it was an unconscious gesture. "As long as I have the Intersect in my head, I'm useful to them. I never dreamed I'd be saying this, but I'm going to make use of that."

"You're either a complete idiot, or the smartest guy I've ever met." Casey stated, and Chuck sensed something close to gratitude in his statement. Casey also hadn't flat-out called him a moron, which was always a good sign. "It doesn't matter though. The General made the terms of my dismissal crystal clear."

Chuck smiled. "We'll see about that." Agent Carmichael had a plan. "I'm going to need your help though."

It brought Chuck a great deal of relief to see Casey's smirk, even if it wasn't as confident and sarcastic as it usually was.


	2. Repercussion

**Chuck vs. the Establishment**

_Operation Two: Repercussion_

Thank you all so much for the kind reviews! I would like to point out that I still don't own anything. If you see any errors, please point them out to me. Constructive criticism is always a loved!

* * *

"So. You never slept with Sarah."

"Nope."

"That sucks, man."

"Yeah."

Morgan Grimes shook his head slowly, repeating his previous statement. "That _sucks_, man."

Chuck nodded slowly, not really paying attention to Morgan's interrogation. He had promised to answer all of Morgan's sordid, dirty questions about the spy life Chuck had been leading for the past three years. He had promised that before he knew just why Casey had been so determined to hand that pill over to the Ring. It was hard to believe the lengths the government had gone to in order to ensure the safety of that pill. What could the Ring do with it, anyway? Besides create an army of fearless agents, that is. Chuck still felt an overwhelming sense of guilt concerning what had happened. He had nearly killed that Ring agent. He bit his lower lip in thought, once again zoning out while Morgan attempted to question him.

"Hey, Chuck! Earth to Chuck! You still here, man?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm here."

Morgan actually looked concerned, a look Chuck felt never looked good on his little "dwarf" friend. "Listen, if something's bothering you, you know you can tell me." Morgan's statement was simple, but effective.

Chuck leaned back on the couch, swinging his legs up to rest over the opposite arm. Morgan was seated comfortably in their shared apartment's armchair, leaning forward and resting his chin on folded hands, clearly ready to analyze whatever Chuck had to say. "Well... something bad happened today, buddy. Real bad." Chuck started slowly.

"Are you in danger?" Morgan's immediate response wasn't unexpected. All the same, Chuck was glad to hear it. Maybe Morgan was beginning to realize that the whole spy business was not all glitz and glamour. "Am I in danger?"

"No, Morgan. We're both fine. No one's in danger." Well, except Casey, if he didn't get his guns back. Honestly, Chuck couldn't imagine the former NSA agent without his firearms around. "It's... It's Casey."

"Colonel Casey?" Morgan's look of disbelief said it all. How could Casey get himself in any trouble? Morgan hadn't even seen him in action and he already knew Casey was a tough customer. "No way." The way he said it wasn't challenging Chuck's statement in any way, but he was curious.

Chuck sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Yes way. See, it's kinda complicated... But a mission went bad, and Casey's been dismissed."

"No way." Morgan shook his head slowly. "You're kidding."

"I wish I was."

Morgan lapsed into silence, brows furrowed together in thought. Perhaps he was imagining the sort of situation that would lead to Casey's dismissal, or maybe he was just wondering _why_. Chuck still wondered that too. "But," Morgan started, glancing up at Chuck, still deep in thought, "would they really just let him _go_? I mean, this whole spy thing is top-secret. You wouldn't have told me if that dude hadn't nearly prematurely shaved me."

Though his statement was said without any sort of malice, Chuck winced. It was true. He had promised not to tell Morgan in order to keep him safe, but that didn't change the facts any. He hadn't told his best friend about his double life. "Yeah, but the General said..."

A loud crash from the courtyard outside drew their attention away. A silent look passed between Nerd Herder and Assistant Manager before the duo quickly and quietly made their way over to the window. The shades were drawn -- as Morgan usually liked to keep them -- and they both glanced through the tiny slots in the shades to examine the commotion in the courtyard. It wasn't loud enough to draw attention from Ellie or Devon (who were certainly in bed by this hour), which was only a small relief to Chuck.

On glancing out the window, he had a feeling that would be the only relief for quite a long while.

Standing in the courtyard was Agent Shaw -- whom Chuck was certain was supposed to be in Washington D.C. -- two twin guns drawn and at the ready. He was bleeding from the lip and had a look Chuck couldn't quite identify on his face. It was a mixture of pain (probably from said split lip) and scarcely-concealed regret. It only took a second for Chuck to figure out what was going on; but that was a second longer than it should have taken.

The shots fired simultaneously, and Chuck was only half-way out the door.

* * *

_"Shaw? What the hell are you doing here?"_

_"Orders, I'm afraid."_

_"Orders...? Huh, should've expected that much. The General called you in, then?"_

_"Yes. Sarah was... ill-suited for this task."_

_"You didn't even tell her about this."_

_"No, I didn't."_

_"Now why doesn't that surprise me?"_

_"John, listen--"_

_"I know what you're here for, Shaw. That doesn't mean I'm going to go quietly."_

_"But Chuck is right next door--"_

_"So? Let him hear. He deserves to know what this country does when it 'dismisses' someone."_

* * *

"Casey!" Chuck vaulted over the edge of the fountain, skirting around the bushes and finally coming to a stop beside the former NSA agent. As Agent Shaw had proved to them before, he was quite skilled with a gun. He didn't like guns, but he was good with them. The two held in either hand were still smoking, and even Shaw looked surprised by the turn of events.

John Casey couldn't have dodged those bullets. It was impossible -- and he didn't have the Intersect in his head to get him out of the way. The former NSA agent did have one advantage over Chuck -- an incredibly high tolerance for pain. Though he was gritting his teeth together and certainly _looked_ to be in pain, Casey wasn't out cold despite the blood welling up from the obvious bullet hole under his collarbone, and a lighter wound where the second bullet had grazed his bicep. "Chuck," He gritted through his teeth. "Watch your back."

Chuck turned quickly, but Agent Shaw wasn't pointing the guns at him. On closer inspection, Chuck recognized those guns. _Casey's,_ he thought dismally. Shot by his own guns. _God._ "Shaw, wh-what...?"

He wouldn't get an answer though. Agent Shaw fled, and Chuck let him go. There were more important things to worry about at the moment. Though he had hoped never to involve Ellie or Devon, Chuck was glad his sister and brother-in-law were doctors.

He banged on the door loudly, glancing over his shoulder at Casey's prone form -- uninjured arm settled lightly over his chest. He looked like he was asleep, not fainted from the inevitable pain those two gunshots caused. Chuck's gaze rose to meet Morgan's; his roommate now standing at the door, mouth open in a small "o" shape. Morgan knew all about Chuck's double life, and he was still stunned to see Casey lying in the courtyard, down for the count.

"Bro, do you even know what time it is?" Devon answered the door in a half-open bathrobe, hair sticking up at odd angles and squinting in the dim lights that lit the courtyard. The look on Chuck's face must have said it all, for immediately Devon straightened up and glanced over the Intersect's shoulder. "Chuck, what is it--?"

Chuck didn't have to answer, for it seemed Devon figured it out easily enough. He gently brushed past his brother-in-law and made his way to the courtyard, Morgan joining him as if in a daze. Chuck followed slowly. It was suddenly very cold out. Or maybe that was a delayed reaction of fear now that the adrenaline had run out.

Perhaps things would have turned out alright then -- perhaps Casey would have been escorted to a hospital and taken care of without anyone else becoming aware of what had happened in the courtyard. But no, luck wasn't on Chuck's side that night. "Devon? Chuck? What's going on out here?"

Ellie stood in the doorway, a concerned look on her face. She didn't look half-asleep like Devon had, but rather wide-awake and rather curious. Maybe she had heard the racket outside before Chuck came pounding on their door. That was unlikely, Chuck decided as he stared at his sister blankly. She would have come running if she heard the gunshots. Ellie was incredibly brave. "Chuck?" She repeated, taking a half-step forward.

It was a half-step too many, for Ellie finally seemed to see what had captivated her husband's attention, and her hands rose to her mouth instinctively. "Wh-what--?"

"Babe," Devon started, glancing from Chuck to Morgan and back again. The former seemed to be lost in his own little world, and the latter's blank gaze had turned to Ellie. Apparently the only one thinking straight was the doctor, who was trained to do just that in any sort of situation. This was pushing things a little though. "Casey's been shot and--"

"Shot?" Ellie's voice seemed to fade a bit. She went paler under the dim lights.

"Yes, shot." Devon was already pulling out his cell phone, placed within the pockets of his bathrobe. "We've got to get him to a hospital right away."

"O-of course." Chuck's sister certainly was brave. Brave and composed. She managed to put her own personal fears aside and think like a doctor, brushing past her stunned brother and joining Casey in the courtyard, immediately taking stock of Casey's vital signs.

This had to be a dream, Chuck thought to himself. There was no way this had really happened. Agent Shaw had said he hated guns. He wouldn't be here attempting to kill Casey without orders. That meant the General had ordered him to shoot Casey. But why? Hadn't she said he could start over? Start a new life? Was this because of Chuck's threat to quit? If this had been coming, wouldn't Casey have warned him, or tried to get out of there?

The wail of sirens steadily increased, but Chuck stood rooted to the spot, unable to move. He scarcely heard Ellie ask him if he wanted Sarah to come over. He didn't notice as the stretcher bore Casey away to the hospital. He didn't even ask if the former NSA agent would be alright.

Because in Chuck's mind, it was already too late. He had signed John Casey's death warrant.


	3. Secrets and Lies

**Chuck vs. the Establishment**

_Operation Three: Secrets and Lies_

Thank you all so much for the reviews. I have to give a special thanks to Ms. Chips for such an in-depth review -- I'm glad you're excited about it, and I certainly hope I don't disappoint!

More reviews equals more chapters. Just so you know.

Also: Chuck vs. the Final Exam? I _so_ called it. You know what I'm talking about.

* * *

He hadn't gone to see Casey when he was released from surgery. He hadn't gone to see him when he was moved from the Intensive Care Unit. Even now, four days after the events in the courtyard, Chuck was blatantly avoiding the hospital, and everything connected with it. When Morgan tried to broach the subject, Chuck had pretended he hadn't heard. When Ellie called him from the hospital, he had turned off the phone. Even Devon was ignored, which was "totally not awesome" and also the only part of the message Chuck heard before disconnecting the apartment's phone. Chuck was sure Morgan wouldn't mind. It wasn't like he was getting plenty of phone calls anyway.

To be honest, Chuck wasn't quite sure what kept him away from the former NSA agent. Fear seemed likely. If Chuck spent time around Casey, that would probably only serve to get him killed. If Casey wasn't dead by now, then there was a good chance that Shaw hadn't come to check back up on his job. Odd, Agent Shaw was nothing but thorough. Chuck wanted to believe that Shaw was letting Casey off with a convoluted and painful warning of some sort, but he had long ago lost that naivety that came with not knowing the ins and outs of his job.

There was only one place that was safe from the subject of Casey -- and it was ironically at the Buy More. Morgan had decided it was safest to let Chuck recover on his own, and the Assistant Manager avoided the topic all together. That didn't stop the concerned looks though, but Chuck had grown so used to them that they hardly bothered him.

Unfortunately, the balance between spy work and Buy More work was about to come crashing down. Chuck realized that the moment Sarah hurried through the doors.

"Chuck, what's happened?"

Was she the last person to get the memo? Even Big Mike knew Casey was out due to a rather serious "surgery." Morgan was to thank for that. "Sarah?" Still, Chuck was surprised to see her. She had departed for Washington D.C. to meet up with Shaw (who had been called back to shoot Casey, apparently), and had stayed there for the days after. Chuck was somewhat surprised to realize he hadn't even noticed she was gone. Perhaps that was because of the lack of missions over the last four days, or maybe it was because he was still in a state of diluted shock.

Sarah gave him that pitying look of hers, the one that never failed to bother Chuck. Sure, he was a bit of a nerd (okay, a _lot_ of a nerd), and didn't exactly have the greatest life before all this spy business (and even now, obviously), but there was no reason for her to look at him like that. He imagined it was the same look she'd give an ailing puppy, or a kitten left out in the rain. Chuck was not a puppy, thank you. "Daniel didn't tell me, but he said you weren't--"

"Daniel?" Chuck interrupted. He already knew the answer, but had to get her to clarify anyway.

"Agent Shaw," Sarah replied quickly. "He said something had happened--"

"Figures," Chuck mumbled to himself. "You're Sam and he's Daniel."

Sarah gave him a stern look at those words, clearly not pleased at all with Chuck's revelation about her real name. Chuck doubted it really was her real name. He had been working with her for three years and she hadn't told him. What would prompt her to tell Shaw so easily? Romance? Been there, done that, Chuck thought. "Chuck, now's not the time for this. Tell me what happened."

Now wasn't the place for this either, Chuck thought to himself. Where _would_ be the place though? That was the question. Meeting in Castle certainly wouldn't work. The General could easily monitor their conversation (probably, Chuck had never bothered to figure out if she had wiretapped the place), and Shaw would be there. He didn't want to face either of them at the moment. "My apartment, after my shift." Chuck finally stated. Yes, it would have to do.

Agent Walker gave him a curious look, but finally nodded. She turned on her heel and left, and Chuck could have swore Morgan was shaking his head not too far away. Maybe he'd even been listening in on the conversation. That didn't bother Chuck as much as it should have. Should it? He wasn't quite sure, nor did he care to muddle through the quagmire of emotions that always followed Sarah around. There were times he absolutely hated his up-and-down relationship with Sarah. Now was one of them.

"Hey, Morgan. I'm gonna leave work a bit early today, think you can cover for me?"

"Yeah, sure, man."

At least he'd always have his best friend to back him up. Chuck just hoped he wouldn't get Morgan in harm's way like he had Devon.

* * *

_"What do you mean you don't understand? It's simple. The General gave 'Superman' an order and he followed it to the letter."_

_"Stop calling him that, Chuck."_

_"That's not the point and you know it! He __**shot**__ Casey! He... he was ordered to kill him! He was supposed to... to... Casey was supposed to be a civilian, he was supposed to live a normal life!"_

_"Do you really think he could, Chuck? Casey gave up his civilian life twenty years ago--"_

_"Oh, so now you're taking his side? That's perfect, just __**perfect**__, Sarah. You don't even care...!"_

_"Chuck, I never said that! Of course I care!"_

_"Not enough, apparently!"_

* * *

In the three years he had known Sarah, he never would have guessed that they would get in a fight about _Casey_ of all people. Casey was the only element that never changed over the three years they had worked together. Chuck had grown as a spy, Sarah had weakened. She had grown attached, which only served to cause nothing but pain, as she had said. Through it all -- even the incident in Prague -- Casey had been the only immobile element. He had been the rock Chuck clung to, and now he was...

John Casey had been injured, and Chuck was to blame.

The former NSA agent was in an isolated room at the very end of the hallway, up on the third floor. After his argument with Sarah, Chuck had found himself in the car, instinctively driving toward the hospital. He didn't stop to analyze his decision, nor did he turn around and head home. Chuck had always associated hospitals with sickness rather than health, with death rather than life.

Oddly enough, Casey didn't look like the average hospital patient. Chuck had seen his fair share -- Ellie used to drag him around for community service hours. Chuck had never liked it. Casey looked healthy rather than ill, albeit that was ignoring the IV sprouting from his arm and the bandages swathing his chest and his left bicep. Again Chuck was struck with by how serene the former NSA agent looked. He didn't look like he was in pain (medicine, Chuck decided), and Chuck could only imagine that this was how John Casey slept. He half-expected him to open an eye and greet Chuck with a noncommittal grunt.

He didn't; Chuck was instead greeted by his sister. She shut the door, set aside her clipboard, and gestured for him to take a seat. Chuck followed slowly, still in that daze that had dropped over him the moment he saw Shaw standing over Casey, Casey's own guns pointed at him.

"Chuck," Ellie started cautiously, sitting across from her younger brother. "Please, tell me the truth. Why was John shot in our courtyard?"

It was such a simple question, but one that couldn't get a simple answer. Chuck wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell Ellie everything -- Morgan and Devon already knew, what could it hurt if his sister knew too? But despite how wonderful the idea sounded, Chuck knew it was impossible to let Ellie in on the secret now. She'd be furious, for one, and for another, that would be putting her in danger too. Chuck would never forgive himself for putting Devon in such a horrible position, and he doubted his brother-in-law would ever be able to forget about it. He was lucky the CIA hadn't put him in an underground cell somewhere -- or decided to kill him, as they clearly had Casey. Chuck's expression must have mirrored his thoughts, for Ellie looked far more worried than before.

"What is it? What's going on?" Her voice had taken a note of panic to it, one Chuck was hard-pressed to deny.

"It's not his fault."

Both Bartowskis fixed Casey with identical expressions of surprise and disbelief. The former NSA agent hadn't moved, but he had clearly been awake the whole time, listening in on their conversation. He continued, "It's my fault this happened. I was in the marines for the past twenty years, though I was discharged three years ago due to an... unfortunate incident that resulted in the death of a comrade."

Chuck stared, open-mouthed, as Casey lay there, spinning a lie that sounded so real Chuck was tempted to believe it. "The man who shot me," Casey continued calmly, "was the brother of the officer who was killed. He blames me for his sister's death. I came here to lie low for awhile, in hopes that he wouldn't follow me here... But it looks as though I was wrong."

Ellie was silent for a moment, absorbing all of this slowly. She turned to Chuck, evidently curious as to his role in all of this, when Casey immediately added, "I asked Chuck to keep this between the two of us. I'm... not proud of what happened."

She seemed to accept that, slowly nodding. "I see. Why didn't you just tell us, John?"

"Some things are better left unsaid."

With that, Ellie quickly set about checking Casey's vital signs and the IV drip before slipping out of the room, leaving the two agents in the room together. It had worked, but Chuck still didn't like the idea of lying to his sister like that, even if it would protect her.

"How long have I been out?"

Casey's question brought Chuck back and he stared at the NSA agent as he thought about it. Assuming Casey hadn't woken up previously, it would have been close to four days. "A while," He decided aloud. "It's been awhile."

"Huh." There was that noncommittal noise Chuck was so accustomed to hearing. Though he didn't quite realize it, Chuck was smiling. Casey lifted his eyebrows curiously and ever-so-eloquently stated, "You look horrible. What the hell did Sarah do to you?"

"Hah hah, really funny." Chuck replied sarcastically, but when Casey's expression didn't change, he realized the other was being serious. "Look, it's nothing, okay? Don't worry about it. You've got far more important things to worry about."

"What, this?" Casey gestured to the bandages with a sweep of his hand, "This is nothing. I've had worse. But that is somewhat concerning. I'm in civilian hospital?" It was asked rather than stated, and Chuck nodded to confirm it. "Then I shouldn't be alive. Shaw easily could have come back and finished the job."

"Maybe he doesn't know you're still alive?" Chuck prompted.

"Moron." Casey's reply was said with a sigh, once again revealing how little Chuck knew about his job. "Shaw knows these wounds aren't fatal. He's not an idiot. I don't see the point in him waiting around for me to heal... unless..." Casey trailed off, suddenly lost in thought before quickly shaking his head. "No, no, forget it."

Chuck opened his mouth to ask, but Casey cut him off swiftly, "I take it you've already told Sarah?"

"Yes... should I have?"

Casey shrugged, which looked far more painful than his expression said it was. "It doesn't matter. I'm not sure why Shaw hasn't come back to finish me yet, especially if Sarah knows."

Chuck was silent. Normally this would be the point when he said something along the lines of _Maybe Sarah's protecting you too_ -- but that wasn't plausible. Not after the way she stuck up for Shaw. He could have _killed_ Casey! Apparently Chuck's expression was still speaking volumes, for Casey clapped a hand to his arm reassuringly.

"If he hasn't come to kill me yet, then I'm probably safe for the time being."

It wasn't much of a comfort. But then again, what had he been expecting from the former NSA agent?


End file.
